Nico Echavarria still hasn’t reached the point in his PGA Tour career at which top-10 finishes are a matter of routine.
But when the 30-year-old Colombian finds his way toward the top of leaderboards, he’s developing a habit of big finishes.
With a one-stroke victory over Justin Thomas and Max Greyserman on Sunday in the Zozo Championship in Japan, Echavarria earned his second PGA Tour victory – and just his second career individual top-10 finish on the tour.
“It's surreal. This moment is very special. It's been a good year for me,” said Echavarria, who jumped to 65th on the FedEx Cup points list and earned $1.53 million from the $8.5 million purse. “I just haven't had that top result. I've been very consistent. I've learned a lot this year. To finish the year this way is, it's incredible.”
Echavarria needed birdies on two of the final three holes to finish at 20-under-par 260 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Inzai, northeast of Tokyo, to beat Thomas and Greyserman. Thomas, a 15-time tour winner, was seeking his first victory since the 2022 PGA Championship. Greyserman, a tour rookie in search of his first victory, posted his third runner-up in 26 starts.
In 2023, Echavarria won the Puerto Rico Open, and he tied for fourth with Greyserman in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier this year.
“This year, I had better results. I made more cuts. Overall, I think every part of my game stats-wise improved. I just needed one week for the putter to get hot, and this week was it,” Echavarria said.
“With my team and my girlfriend [Claudia De Antonio], we were talking that it was just a matter of making putts to have a chance of winning on Sunday, and that’s what happened this week.”
The victory earned Echavarria a spot in the 2025 Masters, assuring his first trip to Augusta National. Shortly after his victory, Echavarria called his parents in Colombia to share the moment.
“I’m a very emotional person,” Echavarria said. “Claudia’s here, so she was able to watch, but my parents are at home in Medellín, and it's pretty late there. They stayed up all night watching the golf, and I'm glad they did. Very happy and emotional just being able to talk to them because my parents are the reason I play this beautiful sport.”
For Greyserman, it was a near-miss in his first time in contention since losing a four-stroke lead in the closing holes at the Wyndham Championship in August.
“I stayed within myself today, did what I could,” said Greyserman, who has finished second in three of his past five starts: 3M Open, Wyndham Championship and the Zozo. “I just needed just a little bit more, hit it a little closer, just needed a little bit more. It wasn't like Wyndham where I gave it away. I felt good out there the whole time.”
For Thomas, who was playing his final event of the year because he and his wife, Jillian, are expecting the birth of their first child in the coming days, he came within a swing of his first victory in 2½ years.
“It's a mixture of obviously bummed and disappointed, but I played so well,” he said. “I played plenty well enough to win the tournament.”
Ron Green Jr.